GAME NOTES: In a battle on in-state foes, the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks clash with the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a non-conference affair at Greensboro Coliseum.

UNCW has the unfortunate task of playing its first four games of the season on the road. The Seahawks began the early road trip with a 76-56 defeat at the hands of Old Dominion. It obviously wasn't the way new head coach Kevin Keatts wanted to start his tenure. Keatts landed the job following the departure of Buzz Peterson, who guided the Seahawks to a record of 9-23 last season. Up next, UNCW will pay a visit to VMI.

In its first game of the season, UNCG pulled out a 76-62 win over Division II foe Chowan. The Spartans have failed to gather many wins in recent history, with four of the last six seasons ending with less than 10 wins. However, the squad did improve to 14-18 in its second full season under Wes Miller. UNCG will take part in the EMU Showcase, which is hosted by Eastern Michigan, next.

The last time these teams met was during the 2012-13 season when the host Seahawks collected an 87-73 victory. That win evened the all-time series at 2-2.

Keatts inherited a squad that was far from efficient on offense last season. UNCW was the worst shooting team in the Colonial Athletic Association (.402), while scoring only 63.1 points per game. Based on the first effort of this season, Keatts still has a lot of work to do. The Seahawks only knocked down 32.1 percent of their field goal tries in the loss to Old Dominion, although they did make good on 7-of-18 shots from 3-point range.

Of the four players to score in double figures in the opener, Addison Spruill was the leader, netting 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He also tied for the team-high with five rebounds. Spruill only shot at a 35.7 percent clip last season, but he was still the team's second-best scorer (9.3 ppg). Cedrick Williams was the only player to average in double figures for UNCW, netting 11.5 points per game. He did not come close to that kind of production against ODU, managing only three points on 1-of-5 shooting. In his place, Craig Ponder (14 points), Dylan Sherwood (12) and Freddie Jackson (11) put forth solid efforts, although Jackson only made good on 5-of-13 field goal tries.

Although UNCG led by as many as 23 points against Chowan, it did not have an overly-efficient offensive performance. The Spartans only shot 42 percent from the field, but they got 28 points at the free-throw line to make up for it. They also forced 19 turnovers to aid in overcoming a 37-30 deficit on the glass.

Tevon Saddler and RJ White powered the squad offensively. Saddler netted a game-high 21 points, while White was right behind with 20. White also came up a rebound shy of a double-double, while collecting three steals. If White can continue to produce at such a high level, the Spartans may not miss Kyle Cain, last season's leading scorer and rebounder, as much. Saddler turned the ball over four times, but he made up for the miscues by logging five steals. Nicholas Paulos scored eight points and was the only player to hit more than one 3-pointer.

In order for UNCG to move to 2-0, Saddler and White will need to build off their strong starts. That shouldn't be too difficult, although this contest will be much more competitive than the opener.